A pyramid (from Greek: πυραμίςpyramis)[1][2] is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single point at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape. As such, a pyramid has at least three outer triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version.

A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground,[3] and with the pyramidion on top means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above. This distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures.

Khufu's Pyramid is built mainly of limestone (with large red granite blocks used in some interior chambers), and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains over 2,000,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tonnes (5,500 lb) to 15 tonnes (33,000 lb) [4] and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230 m (755 ft), covering 13 acres. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5 m (488 ft), but today it is only 137 m (455 ft) high, the 9 m (33 ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality white Tura limestone covering, or casing stones, for construction in Cairo. It is still the tallest pyramid.

The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats. In ancient times, these were brightly painted in gold/bronze. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period[5] during the fourth millennium BC. The earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period.[6] The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BC.

Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no archaeological evidence for this and the only textual evidence is from Herodotus.[7] Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit.

The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.

The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian — huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. They are shaped as a reference to the rays of the sun. Most pyramids had a polished, highly reflective white limestone surface, to give them a shining appearance when viewed from a distance. The capstone was usually made of hard stone – granite or basalt – and could be plated with gold, silver, or electrum and would also be highly reflective.[8] After 2700 BC, the ancient Egyptians began building pyramids, until around 1700 BC. The first pyramid was erected during the Third Dynasty by the Pharaoh Djoser and his architect Imhotep. This step pyramid consisted of six stacked mastabas. The largest Egyptian pyramids are those at the Giza pyramid complex. The Egyptian sun god Ra, considered the father of all pharaohs, was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before creating all other gods.[8]

The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575–2150 BC.[9] Ancient Egyptian pyramids were in most cases placed west of the river Nile because the divine pharaoh's soul was meant to join with the sun during its descent before continuing with the sun in its eternal round.[8] As of 2008, some 135 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.[10][11] The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. It was the tallest building in the world until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in 1311 AD. The base is over 52,600 square metres (566,000 sq ft) in area. While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.[12] The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells.[13] Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used for construction in Cairo.

Most pyramids are located near Cairo, with only one royal pyramid being located south of Cairo, at the Abydos temple complex. The pyramid at Abydos, Egypt were commissioned by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom.[14] The building of pyramids began in the Third Dynasty with the reign of King Djoser.[15] Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom.

The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose,[16] with later kings hiding their tombs in the hills, such as those in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank.[17] In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period, though their pyramids had steeper sides.[18]

Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 240 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as 200 AD.

One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.[19]

Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon,[20] a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BC. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.

There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, 12.5 by 14 metres (41 by 46 ft) which means that the sides could not have met at a point.[21] The stone used to build these structures was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza.[citation needed]

The dating of these structures has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these structures are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy.[22]

Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel and previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures.[23]

Liritzis responded in a journal article published in 2011, stating that Lefkowitz failed to understand and misinterpreted the methodology.[24]

The Pyramids of Güímar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Güímar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques.

Autochthonous Guanche traditions as well as surviving images indicate that similar structures (also known as, "Morras", "Majanos", "Molleros", or "Paredones") could once have been found in many locations on the island. However, over time they have been dismantled and used as a cheap building material. In Güímar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.

A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid.

The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. Constructed from the 3rd century BC to the 9th century AD, this pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the 1st century BC. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitlán, Jalisco as well.

The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the 1st century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli, standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century.

Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesianmegalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structures called punden berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan site near Cisolok[30] and in Cipari near Kuningan.[31] The construction of stone pyramids is based on the native beliefs that mountains and high places are the abode for the spirit of the ancestors.[32]

The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java.[33] However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid, and also stepped pyramids of Mount Penanggungan.[34]

The Louvre Pyramid in Paris, France, in the court of the Louvre Museum, is a 20.6 metre (about 70 foot) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and was completed in 1989. The La Pyramide Inversée (Inverted Pyramid) is displayed in the underground Louvre shopping mall.

The Tama-Re village was an Egyptian-themed set of buildings and monuments established near Eatonton, Georgia by Nuwaubians in 1993 that was mostly demolished after being sold under government forfeiture in 2005.

The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story true pyramid with light beaming from the top.

A former museum/monument in Tirana, Albania is commonly known as the "Pyramid of Tirana." It differs from typical pyramids in having a radial rather than square or rectangular shape, and gently sloped sides that make it short in comparison to the size of its base.

The Karlsruhe Pyramid is a pyramid made of red sandstone, located in the centre of the market square of Karlsruhe, Germany. It was erected in the years 1823–1825 over the vault of the city's founder, Margrave Charles III William (1679–1738).

The Donkin Memorial, erected on a Xhosa reserve in 1820 by Cape Governor Sir Rufane Donkin in memory of his late wife Elizabeth, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The pyramid is used in many different coats-of-arms associated with Port Elizabeth. Adjacent to the Pyramid is the lighthouse (1863) that houses the Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism office, as well as a 12 x 8 m South African Flag flying from a 65 m high flagpole. It also forms part of the Route 67 Public Art route.

The unbuilt Museum of Modern Art of Caracas was designed as an upside down pyramid. Playing on a variation of the famous configuration, by inverting the natural geometry Oscar Niemeyer intended a bold composition nevertheless compact in its principle.[40]

Comparison of approximate profiles of several notable pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data are available. In its SVG file, hover over a pyramid to highlight and click for its article.

1.
Pyramid (geometry)
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In geometry, a pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting a polygonal base and a point, called the apex. Each base edge and apex form a triangle, called a lateral face and it is a conic solid with polygonal base. A pyramid with a base has n +1 vertices, n +1 faces. A right pyramid has its apex directly above the centroid of its base, nonright pyramids are called oblique pyramids. A regular pyramid has a polygon base and is usually implied to be a right pyramid. When unspecified, a pyramid is usually assumed to be a square pyramid. A triangle-based pyramid is often called a tetrahedron. Among oblique pyramids, like acute and obtuse triangles, a pyramid can be called if its apex is above the interior of the base and obtuse if its apex is above the exterior of the base. A right-angled pyramid has its apex above an edge or vertex of the base, in a tetrahedron these qualifiers change based on which face is considered the base. Pyramids are a subclass of the prismatoids, pyramids can be doubled into bipyramids by adding a second offset point on the other side of the base plane. A right pyramid with a base has isosceles triangle sides, with symmetry is Cnv or. It can be given an extended Schläfli symbol ∨, representing a point, a join operation creates a new edge between all pairs of vertices of the two joined figures. The trigonal or triangular pyramid with all equilateral triangles faces becomes the regular tetrahedron, a lower symmetry case of the triangular pyramid is C3v, which has an equilateral triangle base, and 3 identical isosceles triangle sides. The square and pentagonal pyramids can also be composed of convex polygons. Right pyramids with regular star polygon bases are called star pyramids, for example, the pentagrammic pyramid has a pentagram base and 5 intersecting triangle sides. A right pyramid can be named as ∨P, where is the point, ∨ is a join operator. It has C1v symmetry from two different base-apex orientations, and C2v in its full symmetry, a rectangular right pyramid, written as ∨, and a rhombic pyramid, as ∨, both have symmetry C2v. The volume of a pyramid is V =13 b h and this works for any polygon, regular or non-regular, and any location of the apex, provided that h is measured as the perpendicular distance from the plane containing the base

2.
Egyptian pyramids
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The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt. As of November 2008, sources cite either 118 or 138 as the number of identified Egyptian pyramids, most were built as tombs for the countrys pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis, the earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser which was built during the third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect Imhotep, the most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built, the Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence. By the time of the Early Dynastic Period, those with sufficient means were buried in bench-like structures known as mastabas, the second historically-documented Egyptian pyramid is attributed to the architect Imhotep, who planned what Egyptologists believe to be a tomb for the pharaoh Djoser. Imhotep is credited with being the first to conceive the notion of stacking mastabas on top of each other, the result was the Pyramid of Djoser, which was designed to serve as a gigantic stairway by which the soul of the deceased pharaoh could ascend to the heavens. Such was the importance of Imhoteps achievement that he was deified by later Egyptians, the most prolific pyramid-building phase coincided with the greatest degree of absolutist rule. It was during this time that the most famous pyramids, the Giza pyramid complex, were built. Long after the end of Egypts own pyramid-building period, a burst of pyramid-building occurred in what is present-day Sudan, al-Aziz Uthman tried to destroy the Giza pyramid complex. He gave up after damaging the Pyramid of Menkaure because the task proved too huge, the shape of Egyptian pyramids is thought to represent the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created. Pyramids were often named in ways that referred to solar luminescence. For example, the name of the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur The Southern Shining Pyramid. While it is agreed that pyramids were burial monuments, there is continued disagreement on the particular theological principles that might have given rise to them. One suggestion is that they were designed as a type of resurrection machine, the Egyptians believed the dark area of the night sky around which the stars appear to revolve was the physical gateway into the heavens. One of the shafts that extend from the main burial chamber through the entire body of the Great Pyramid points directly towards the center of this part of the sky. This suggests the pyramid may have designed to serve as a means to magically launch the deceased pharaohs soul directly into the abode of the gods

3.
Giza Necropolis
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The Giza pyramid complex is an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It is located in the Libyan Desert, approximately 9 km west of the Nile river at the old town of Giza and it is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex, current consensus among Egyptologists is that the head of the Great Sphinx is that of Khafre. Along with these monuments are a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as queens pyramids, causeways. The valley temple was connected to a causeway which was destroyed when the village was constructed. The causeway led to the Mortuary Temple of Khufu, from this temple the basalt pavement is the only thing that remains. The mortuary temple was connected to the king’s pyramid, the king’s pyramid has three smaller queen’s pyramids associated with it and five boat pits. The boat pits contained a ship, and the 2 pits on the side of the pyramid still contained intact ships. One of these ships has been restored and is on display, khufus pyramid still has a limited collection of casing stones at its base. These casing stones were made of white limestone quarried from the nearby range. Khafre’s pyramid complex consists of a temple, the Sphinx temple, a causeway, a mortuary temple. The valley temple yielded several statues of Khafre, several were found in a well in the floor of the temple by Mariette in 1860. Others were found during excavations by Sieglin, Junker, Reisner. Khafre’s complex contained five boat-pits and a pyramid with a serdab. Khafres pyramid retains a prominent display of casing stones at its apex, menkaure’s pyramid complex consists of a valley temple, a causeway, a mortuary temple, and the king’s pyramid. The valley temple once contained several statues of Menkaure, during the 5th dynasty, a smaller ante-temple was added on to the valley temple. The mortuary temple also yielded several statues of Menkaure, the king’s pyramid has three subsidiary or queen’s pyramids. Of the four monuments, only Menkaures pyramid is seen today without any of its original polished limestone casing

4.
Pyramid of the Moon
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The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest pyramid in modern-day San Juan Teotihuacán, Mexico, after the Pyramid of the Sun. It is located in the part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo. Some have called it Tenan, which in Nahuatl, means mother or protective stone, the Pyramid of the Moon covers a structure older than the Pyramid of the Sun. The structure existed prior to 200 AD, the Pyramids construction between 200 and 250 AD completed the bilateral symmetry of the temple complex. This platform and the sculpture found at the bottom are thus dedicated to The Great Goddess. Opposite the Great Goddesss altar is the Plaza of the Moon, the Plaza contains a central altar and an original construction with internal divisions, consisting of four rectangular and diagonal bodies that formed what is known as the Teotihuacan Cross. Between 150 BC and 500 AD, a Mesoamerican culture built a metropolis on a plateau about 22 km2. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is a subject of debate, during the initial phase of Teotihuacan, called Tzacualli, ingenious building systems were developed to erect the monumental bases of the Pyramids of the moon and the Sun. The Teotihuacan metropolis has a planified urbanization with main axis, and it was said by the Aztecs to have been surmounted by a huge stone figure related to the moon. This figure was uncovered and it represents the Great Goddess as a water deity, scholars have suggested that the water that flows through her hands is living water and represents a life-giving force and fertility. Beginning in 1998, archaeologists excavated beneath the Pyramid of the Moon, tunnels dug into the structure have revealed that the pyramid underwent at least six renovations, each new addition was larger and covered the previous structure. As the archaeologists burrowed through the layers of the pyramid, they discovered artifacts that provide the beginning of a timeline to the history of Teotihuacan and it contains four human skeletons, animal bones, jewelry, obsidian blades, and a wide variety of other offerings. Archeologists estimated that the burial occurred between 100 and 200 AD, another tomb dedicated to The Great Goddess was discovered in 1998. It is dated to the stage of construction. List of megalithic sites List of Mesoamerican pyramids Great Goddess of Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun

5.
Teotihuacan
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Additionally, Teotihuacan exported fine obsidian tools that garnered high prestige and widespread usage throughout Mesoamerica. The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC, the city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD, but its major monuments were sacked and systematically burned around 550 AD. Teotihuacan began as a new center in the Mexican Highlands around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the pre-Columbian Americas, Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The term Teotihuacan is also used for the civilization and cultural complex associated with the site. The later Aztecs saw these magnificent ruins and claimed a common ancestry with the Teotihuacanos, the ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is also a subject of debate. Possible candidates are the Nahua, Otomi, or Totonac ethnic groups, scholars have also suggested that Teotihuacan was a multi-ethnic state. The city and the site are located in what is now the San Juan Teotihuacán municipality in the State of México. The site covers a surface area of 83 square kilometres and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It is the most visited site in Mexico. The name Teōtīhuacān was given by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs centuries after the fall of the city around 550 A. D, the term has been glossed as birthplace of the gods, or place where gods were born, reflecting Nahua creation myths that were said to occur in Teotihuacan. Nahuatl scholar Thelma D. Sullivan interprets the name as place of those who have the road of the gods and this is because the Aztecs believed that the gods created the universe at that site. The name is pronounced in Nahuatl, with the accent on the syllable wa, by normal Nahuatl orthographic conventions, a written accent would not appear in that position. Both this pronunciation and Spanish pronunciation, are used, and both appear in this article. The original name of the city is unknown, but it appears in texts from the Maya region as puh. This naming convention led to confusion in the early 20th century. It now seems clear that Tollan may be understood as a generic Nahua term applied to any large settlement, the early history of Teotihuacan is quite mysterious, and the origin of its founders is uncertain. Around 300 BC, people of the central and southeastern area of Mesoamerica began to gather into larger settlements, Teotihuacan was the largest urban center of Mesoamerica before the Aztecs, almost 1000 years prior to their epoch

6.
Candi Sukuh
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Sukuh is a 15th-century Javanese-Hindu temple that is located on the western slope of Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java provinces. Sukuh temple has a distinctive thematic reliefs from other candi where life before birth and its main monument is a simple pyramid structure with reliefs and statues in front of it, including three tortoises with flattened shells and a male figure grasping his penis. A giant 1.82 m high of lingga with four testes, Sukuh is one of several temples built on the northwest slopes of Mount Lawu in the 15th century. By this time, Javanese religion and art had diverged from Indian precepts that had been so influential on temples styles during the 8th–10th centuries and this was the last significant area of temple building in Java before the islands courts were converted to Islam in the 16th century. It is difficult for historians to interpret the significance of these due to the temples distinctiveness. The founder of Candi Sukuh thought that the slope of Mount Lawu was a place for worshiping the ancestors and nature spirits. The monument was built around 1437, as written as a date on the western gate. In 1815, Sir Thomas Raffles, the ruler of Java during 1811–1816, visited the temple, in his account, many statues had been thrown down on the ground and most of the figures had been decapitated. Raffles also found the giant lingga statue broken into two pieces, which was glued together. The central pyramid of the complex sits at the rear of the highest of three terraces, originally, worshippers would have accessed the complex through a gateway at the western or lowest terrace. To the left of the gate is a carving of a monster eating a man, birds in a tree, and a dog, which is thought to be a chronogram representing 1437 CE, the likely date of the temples consecration. Genitalia are portrayed on several statues from the site, which is unique among Javanese classical monuments, the main structure of Sukuh temple is like no other ancient edifice, it is a truncated pyramid reminiscent of a Maya monument and surrounded by monoliths and meticulously carved life-sized figures. The Sukuh temple does not follow the Hindu architecture Wastu Vidya because it was built after the Hindu religion had weakened, temples usually have a rectangular or square shape, but Sukuh temple is a trapezium with three terraces, with one terrace higher than the others. A stone stairway rises through the front side of the pyramid to its summit and it is not known what the monuments unique shape was intended to symbolize. One suggestion is that it represents a mountain, there is no evidence that the main building supported a wooden structure. The only object recovered from its summit was a 1. 82-metre lingga statue bearing an inscription, the statue may once have stood on the platform over the stairway. The lingga statue has an inscription carved from top to bottom representing a vein followed by a chronogram date equivalent to 1440. The inscription translates Consecration of the Holy Ganges sudhi in, the sign of masculinity is the essence of the world

7.
Java
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Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of over 141 million or 145 million as of 2015 Census released in December 2015, the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java and it was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s, Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Formed mostly as the result of eruptions, Java is the 13th largest island in the world. A chain of mountains forms an east–west spine along the island. Three main languages are spoken on the island, Javanese, Sundanese, of these, Javanese is the dominant, it is the native language of about 60 million people in Indonesia, most of whom live on Java. Furthermore, most residents are bilingual, speaking Indonesian as their first or second language, while the majority of the people of Java are Muslim, Java has a diverse mixture of religious beliefs, ethnicities, and cultures. Java is divided into four provinces, West Java, Central Java, East Java, and Banten, the origins of the name Java are not clear. One possibility is that the island was named after the plant, which was said to be common in the island during the time. There are other sources, the word jaú and its variations mean beyond or distant. And, in Sanskrit yava means barley, a plant for which the island was famous, Yawadvipa is mentioned in Indias earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Ramas army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa and it was hence referred to in India by the Sanskrit name yāvaka dvīpa. Java is mentioned in the ancient Tamil text Manimekalai by Chithalai Chathanar that states that Java had a kingdom with a capital called Nagapuram, another source states that the Java word is derived from a Proto-Austronesian root word, Iawa that meaning home. The great island of Iabadiu or Jabadiu was mentioned in Ptolemys Geographia composed around 150 CE Roman Empire, Iabadiu is said to mean barley island, to be rich in gold, and have a silver town called Argyra at the west end. The name indicate Java, and seems to be derived from Hindu name Java-dvipa, Java lies between Sumatra to the west and Bali to the east. Borneo lies to the north and Christmas Island is to the south and it is the worlds 13th largest island. Java is surrounded by the Java Sea to the north, Sunda Strait to the west, Java is almost entirely of volcanic origin, it contains thirty-eight mountains forming an east–west spine that have at one time or another been active volcanoes

8.
Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is the worlds 14th-largest country in terms of area and worlds 7th-largest country in terms of combined sea. It has an population of over 260 million people and is the worlds fourth most populous country. The worlds most populous island, Java, contains more than half of the countrys population, Indonesias republican form of government includes an elected legislature and president. Indonesia has 34 provinces, of which five have Special Administrative status and its capital and countrys most populous city is Jakarta, which is also the most populous city in Southeast Asia and the second in Asia. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, other neighbouring countries include Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the second highest level of biodiversity. The country has abundant natural resources like oil and natural gas, tin, copper, agriculture mainly produces rice, palm oil, tea, coffee, cacao, medicinal plants, spices and rubber. Indonesias major trading partners are Japan, United States, China, the Indonesian archipelago has been an important region for trade since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Indonesia consists of hundreds of native ethnic and linguistic groups. The largest – and politically dominant – ethnic group are the Javanese, a shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesias national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, articulates the diversity that shapes the country, Indonesias economy is the worlds 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950, Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization. The name Indonesia derives from the Greek name of the Indós, the name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850, George Windsor Earl, an English ethnologist, proposed the terms Indunesians—and, his preference, in the same publication, one of his students, James Richardson Logan, used Indonesia as a synonym for Indian Archipelago. However, Dutch academics writing in East Indies publications were reluctant to use Indonesia, they preferred Malay Archipelago, the Netherlands East Indies, popularly Indië, the East, and Insulinde

9.
Koh Ker
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Koh Ker is a remote archaeological site in northern Cambodia about 120 kilometres away from Siem Reap and the ancient site of Angkor. It is a very jungle filled region that is sparsely populated, more than 180 sanctuaries were found in a protected area of 81 square kilometres. Only about two dozen monuments can be visited by tourists because most of the sanctuaries are hidden in the forest, Koh Ker is the modern name for an important city of the Khmer empire. In inscriptions the town is mentioned as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, under the reign of the kings Jayavarman IV and Harshavarman II Koh Ker was briefly the capital of the whole empire. Jayavarman IV forced an ambitious building program, an enormous water-tank and about forty temples were constructed under his rule. The most significant temple‑complex, a sanctuary, follows a linear plan. Unparalleled is the seven‑tiered and 36-metre high pyramid, which most probably served as temple of Jayavarman IV. Really impressive too are the shrines with the two‑meter 6 ft 7 in high lingas, under Jayavarman IV the style of Koh Ker was developed and the art of sculpture reached a pinnacle. A great variety of statues were chiselled. Because of its remoteness the site of Koh Ker was plundered many times by looters, sculptures of Koh Ker can be found not only in different museums but also in private collections. Masterpieces of Koh Ker are offered occasionally at auctions and these pieces in present times are considered stolen art. The site is two and half hours away from Siem Reap, and basic visitors facilities are now being built. This makes Koh Ker very attractive for anyone who would like to experience lonely temples partly overgrown by the forest, since 1992 the site of Koh Ker is on the UNESCO tentative world heritage list. Koh Ker is situated between the slopes of the Dangrek mountains, the Kulen mountains in the south-west and the Tbeng mountain in the east. Most parts of the ground are covered by jungle. In the second part of the 19th century, as French researchers and adventurers ranged the forests around the site of Koh Ker the game population was impressive, the city of Koh Ker was passed by the most important strategic route of the Khmer empire. Coming from Angkor and Beng Mealea to Koh Ker this road led to Prasat Preah Vihear and from there to Phimai in Thailand, the region of Koh Ker is relatively dry. Numerous water-tanks and canals were built during the 9th and the 10th century to ensure the water supply and these days water is pumped up from a depth of 30 to 40 metres meters

10.
Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practiced by approximately 95 percent of the population, the countrys minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, the kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently the longest serving leader in South East Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 25 years. In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name Kambuja. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, after the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north, the Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the king gave his support to his former enemies. Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission, the UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 coup placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian Peoples Party, important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall, Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, the Kingdom of Cambodia is the official English name of the country. The English Cambodia is an anglicisation of the French Cambodge, which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer Kampuchea, Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the countrys official name in Khmer, Preah Reacheanachak Kampuchea. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name Kambujadeśa, composed of देश, desa and कम्बोज, Kambujas, colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either Srok Khmer, meaning Khmers Land, or the slightly more formal Prateh Kampuchea, literally Country of Kampuchea. The name Cambodia is used most often in the Western world while Kampuchea is more used in the East. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of dates as of 6000 BC

11.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population

12.
Polygon
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In elementary geometry, a polygon /ˈpɒlɪɡɒn/ is a plane figure that is bounded by a finite chain of straight line segments closing in a loop to form a closed polygonal chain or circuit. These segments are called its edges or sides, and the points where two edges meet are the vertices or corners. The interior of the polygon is called its body. An n-gon is a polygon with n sides, for example, a polygon is a 2-dimensional example of the more general polytope in any number of dimensions. The basic geometrical notion of a polygon has been adapted in various ways to suit particular purposes, mathematicians are often concerned only with the bounding closed polygonal chain and with simple polygons which do not self-intersect, and they often define a polygon accordingly. A polygonal boundary may be allowed to intersect itself, creating star polygons and these and other generalizations of polygons are described below. The word polygon derives from the Greek adjective πολύς much, many and it has been suggested that γόνυ knee may be the origin of “gon”. Polygons are primarily classified by the number of sides, Polygons may be characterized by their convexity or type of non-convexity, Convex, any line drawn through the polygon meets its boundary exactly twice. As a consequence, all its interior angles are less than 180°, equivalently, any line segment with endpoints on the boundary passes through only interior points between its endpoints. Non-convex, a line may be found which meets its boundary more than twice, equivalently, there exists a line segment between two boundary points that passes outside the polygon. Simple, the boundary of the polygon does not cross itself, there is at least one interior angle greater than 180°. Star-shaped, the interior is visible from at least one point. The polygon must be simple, and may be convex or concave, self-intersecting, the boundary of the polygon crosses itself. Branko Grünbaum calls these coptic, though this term does not seem to be widely used, star polygon, a polygon which self-intersects in a regular way. A polygon cannot be both a star and star-shaped, equiangular, all corner angles are equal. Cyclic, all lie on a single circle, called the circumcircle. Isogonal or vertex-transitive, all lie within the same symmetry orbit. The polygon is cyclic and equiangular

13.
Face (geometry)
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In solid geometry, a face is a flat surface that forms part of the boundary of a solid object, a three-dimensional solid bounded exclusively by flat faces is a polyhedron. In more technical treatments of the geometry of polyhedra and higher-dimensional polytopes, in elementary geometry, a face is a polygon on the boundary of a polyhedron. Other names for a polygonal face include side of a polyhedron, for example, any of the six squares that bound a cube is a face of the cube. Sometimes face is used to refer to the 2-dimensional features of a 4-polytope. With this meaning, the 4-dimensional tesseract has 24 square faces, some other polygons, which are not faces, are also important for polyhedra and tessellations. These include Petrie polygons, vertex figures and facets, any convex polyhedrons surface has Euler characteristic V − E + F =2, where V is the number of vertices, E is the number of edges, and F is the number of faces. This equation is known as Eulers polyhedron formula, thus the number of faces is 2 more than the excess of the number of edges over the number of vertices. For example, a cube has 12 edges and 8 vertices, in higher-dimensional geometry the faces of a polytope are features of all dimensions. A face of dimension k is called a k-face, for example, the polygonal faces of an ordinary polyhedron are 2-faces. In set theory, the set of faces of a polytope includes the polytope itself, for any n-polytope, −1 ≤ k ≤ n. For example, with meaning, the faces of a cube include the empty set, its vertices, edges and squares. Formally, a face of a polytope P is the intersection of P with any closed halfspace whose boundary is disjoint from the interior of P, from this definition it follows that the set of faces of a polytope includes the polytope itself and the empty set. In other areas of mathematics, such as the theories of abstract polytopes and star polytopes, abstract theory still requires that the set of faces include the polytope itself and the empty set. A cell is an element of a 4-dimensional polytope or 3-dimensional tessellation. Cells are facets for 4-polytopes and 3-honeycombs, examples, In higher-dimensional geometry, the facets of a n-polytope are the -faces of dimension one less than the polytope itself. A polytope is bounded by its facets, for example, The facets of a line segment are its 0-faces or vertices. The facets of a polygon are its 1-faces or edges, the facets of a polyhedron or plane tiling are its 2-faces. The facets of a 4D polytope or 3-honeycomb are its 3-faces, the facets of a 5D polytope or 4-honeycomb are its 4-faces

14.
Square pyramid
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In geometry, a square pyramid is a pyramid having a square base. If the apex is perpendicularly above the center of the square, if the sides are all equilateral triangles, the pyramid is one of the Johnson solids. The 92 Johnson solids were named and described by Norman Johnson in 1966, a Johnson solid is one of 92 strictly convex polyhedra that have regular faces but are not uniform. They were named by Norman Johnson, who first listed these polyhedra in 1966, the Johnson square pyramid can be characterized by a single edge-length parameter a. The height H, the surface area A, and the volume V of such a pyramid are, other square pyramids have isosceles triangle sides. For square pyramids in general, with length l and height h. Square pyramids fill space with tetrahedra, truncated cubes or cuboctahedra, the square pyramid is topologically a self-dual polyhedron. The dual edge lengths are different due to the polar reciprocation, like all pyramids, the square pyramid is self-dual, having the same number of vertices as faces. A square pyramid can be represented by the Wheel graph W5, eric W. Weisstein, Square pyramid at MathWorld. Square Pyramid -- Interactive Polyhedron Model Virtual Reality Polyhedra www. georgehart. com, The Encyclopedia of Polyhedra

15.
Pyramidion
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A pyramidion is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk, in archaeological parlance. They were called benbenet in the Ancient Egyptian language, which associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone. A pyramidion was covered in gold leaf to reflect the rays of the sun, during Egypts Middle Kingdom, they were inscribed with royal titles. Very few pyramidia have survived into modern times, most of those that have are made of polished black granite, inscribed with the name of the pyramids owner. Four pyramidia – the worlds largest collection – are housed in the hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Among them are the pyramidia from the so-called Black Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Dahshur, during the New Kingdom, some private underground tombs were marked on the surface by small brick pyramids that terminated in pyramidia. The four lateral sides included texts and scenes related to the cult of the Sun God. The scenes typically depict the course of the sun, rising on one face, setting on the opposite face. The pyramidion of the scribe Moses depicts himself making an offering, the adjacent opposite faces feature a baboon, Screeching upon the rising of the Sun, and the Day. The pyramidion of Ptahemwia likewise displays sun-related scenes, the Sun God, Re-Horakhti, and the god of the Underworld, Osiris, are shown on one lateral face. Facing the two gods, on the adjacent lateral face, is the deceased Ptahemwia, standing in an offering pose, washington Monument, which has a solid aluminum pyramidion that serves as a lightning rod

16.
Great Pyramid of Cholula
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The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl, is a huge complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid in the New World, the pyramid stands 55 metres above the surrounding plain, and in its final form it measured 400 by 400 metres. The pyramid is a temple that traditionally has been viewed as having been dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl. The architectural style of the building was linked closely to that of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico, although influence from the Gulf Coast also is evident, the Cholula archaeological zone is situated 6.4 kilometres west of the city of Puebla, in the city of Cholula. To be more exact, the pyramid is located in the San Andrés Cholula, Puebla municipality, the city is divided into two municipalities called San Ándres and San Pedro. This division originates in the Toltec-Chichimeca conquest of the city in the twelfth century and these pushed the former dominant ethnicity of the Olmeca-Xicalanca, to the south of the city. The name cholula has its origin in the ancient Nahuatl word cholollan, the Great Pyramid was an important religious and mythical centre in prehispanic times. Over a period of a years prior to the Spanish Conquest. The temple-pyramid complex was built in four stages, starting from the 3rd century BC through the 9th century AD and it has a base of 450 by 450 metres and a height of 66 m. However the Great Pyramid of Giza is higher at 138.8 metres, the ceramics of Cholula were closely linked to those of Teotihuacan, and both sites appeared to decline simultaneously. The Postclassic Aztecs believed that Xelhua built the Great Pyramid of Cholula, at its peak, Cholula had the second largest population in Mexico of an estimated 100,000 people living at this site. Although the prehispanic city of Cholula continued to be inhabited, the Great Pyramid was abandoned in the 8th century at a time when the city suffered a drop in population. Even after this drop-off in population, the Great Pyramid retained its religious importance, the site was once called Acholollan meaning place of flight. This meaning has led some to believe that this site was founded after its inhabitants fled elsewhere. The Toltec-Chichimec History, a codex from the Cholula region, relates that an Olmec-Xicalanca lord with the title Aquiyach Amapane resided at the Great Pyramid. In the 12th century, after the Toltec-Chichimecas took over the city, religious focus shifted away from the pyramid, even during the Postclassic period, long after the abandonment of the pyramid, many burials continued to be interred around the structure, demonstrating its continued importance. By the time the Spanish arrived, the pyramid was overgrown, architect Ignacio Marquina started exploratory tunnelling within the pyramid in 1931. By 1954, the length of tunnels came to approximately 8.0 kilometres

17.
Puebla
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Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla and it is located in East-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the north and east, Hidalgo, México, Tlaxcala and Morelos to the west, and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south. The origins of the lie in the city of Puebla. By the end of the 18th century, the area had become a province with its own governor. It is home to five major groups, Nahuas, the Totonacs, the Mixtecs, the Popolocas and the Otomi, which can mostly be found in the far north. The state is located on the highlands of Mexico between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Madre Oriental. It has a triangular shape with its narrow part to the north. It borders the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Morelos, State of Mexico, Tlaxcala, the state has a territory of 33, 919km2 and ranks 20th out of 31 states in size, and 4,930 named communities. Most of its mountains belong to the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, some of the highest elevations include Apulco, Chichat, Chignahuapan, Soltepec and Tlatlaquitepec. In the south of the state, the elevations are the Sierra de Atenahuacán, Zapotitlán, Lomerio al Suroeste. Dividing much of the state from Veracruz is a chain of mountains called the Sierra Madre del Golfo. The Huasteco Plateau and the Llanuras y Lomeríos zone are located in the north and northeast, with the Lagos y Volcanes del Anáhuc in the center, together, they account for over 50% of the state. The east and northeast are occupies by the Chiconquiaco and Llanudras y Sierras de Querétaro e Hidalgo areas, the Cordillera del Sur and Mixteca Alta are located in the west and southwest covering less than 2. 5% of the state. The Sur de Puebla is in the southwest and accounts for 26% of the state, other southern subregions include the Sierras y Valles Guerrerenses, the Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca and the Sierras Orientales. Together, they account for about 15% of the state, the hydrology of Puebla is formed by three major river systems. This river receives water from tributaries such as the Acateno, Atila, Amacuzac, Molinos. The river has one dam called Valsequllo or Manuel Avila Camacho

18.
List of largest buildings in the world
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The lists in this article rank buildings from around the world by usable space, footprint on the ground, and floor space, respectively. The term building used by these lists refers to structures that are suitable for continuous human occupancy. There are a few exceptions which include factories and warehouses and this list ranks the buildings throughout the world with the largest usable space sorted by volume. This list ranks the buildings throughout the world with the largest footprint on the ground and this list ranks the top buildings throughout the world with the largest amount of floor area. This list of special categories includes a variety of buildings which are the largest of their type, List of largest shopping malls in the world List of tallest buildings in the world Great Wall of China, the largest structure ever built

19.
Red Pyramid
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The Red Pyramid, also called the North Pyramid, is the largest of the three major pyramids located at the Dahshur necropolis in Cairo, Egypt. Named for the rusty reddish hue of its red limestone stones, it is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after those of Khufu and it is also believed to be Egypts first successful attempt at constructing a true smooth-sided pyramid. Local residents refer to the Red Pyramid as el-heram el-watwaat, meaning the Bat Pyramid, the Red Pyramid was not always red. It used to be cased with white Tura limestone, but only a few of these now remain at the pyramids base. During the Middle Ages much of the white Tura limestone was taken for buildings in Cairo, the Red Pyramid was the third pyramid built by Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu, and is located approximately one kilometer to the north of the Bent Pyramid. It is built at the same shallow 43 degree angle as the section of the Bent Pyramid. Construction is believed to have begun during the year of Sneferus reign. Egyptologists disagree on the length of time it took to construct, archaeologists speculate its design may be an outcome of engineering crises experienced during the construction of Sneferus two earlier pyramids. The Red Pyramid is 105 metres high, a rare pyramidion, or capstone, for the Red Pyramid has been uncovered and reconstructed, and is now on display at Dahshur. However, whether it was ever used is unclear, as its angle of inclination differs from that of the pyramid it was apparently intended for. The Red Pyramid, along with the Bent Pyramid, was closed to tourists for many years because of an army camp. It is now open for tourists and a somewhat intrusive ventilation has been installed which pipes air down the entrance shaft to the interior chambers. Visitors climb steps cut in or built over the stones of the pyramid to a high on the north side. A passage,3 feet in height and 4 feet wide, slopes down at 27° for 200 feet to a horizontal passage leading into a chamber whose corbelled roof is 40 feet high. At the southern end of the chamber, but offset to the west and this passage was probably closed at one time and the offset was a measure intended to confuse potential robbers. The second chamber is similar to the first and lies directly beneath the apex of the pyramid, high in the southern wall of the chamber is an entrance, now reached by a large wooden staircase built for the convenience of tourists. This gives onto a horizontal passage that leads to the third. The first two chambers have their long axis aligned north-south, but this chambers long axis is aligned east-west

20.
Dashur Necropolis
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Dahshur is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo. It is known chiefly for several pyramids, two of which are among the oldest, largest and best preserved in Egypt, built from 2613–2589 BC, building the Dahshur pyramids was an extremely important learning experience for the Egyptians before they could build the Great Pyramid of Giza. Two of the Dahshur Pyramids, The Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid, were constructed during the reign of Pharaoh Sneferu, the Bent Pyramid was the first attempt at a smooth-sided pyramid but ultimately wasnt successful. One design flaw was that there was a very unstable base for it made of desert gravel and this in turn is thought to be the reason the pyramid is bent and changes angles about halfway up the sides. Sneferu was not pleased with this pyramid, so he built called the Red Pyramid. Getting its name from the red hue the pyramid gives off after a nice rain, standing more than 30 stories tall, it is thought to be Sneferus pride and glory and the place where he is believed to be buried. The Red pyramid was the largest smooth-sided pyramid standing until Sneferus son, Khufu, outdid his father by building the Great Pyramid of Giza, though Khufus pyramid is larger, he would not have been able to build it without the knowledge that his father discovered before him. The pyramid of the 12th Dynasty king Amenemhat II is now badly damaged, next to it were found several undisturbed tombs of royal women still containing a large amount of jewellery. The pyramid of Sesostris III was part of a complex, with several smaller pyramids of royal women. In a gallery next to this pyramid were found two treasures of the kings daughters. The Black Pyramid dates from the reign of Amenemhat III and, although badly eroded. The polished granite pyramidion or capstone of the Black Pyramid is on display in the hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Next to the pyramid was found the partly disturbed tomb of 13th Dynasty king Hor, several other pyramids of the 13th Dynasty were built at Dahshur. Only the one of the reign of Ameny Qemau has been excavated so far, ahmad Fakhri was an archaeologist who worked at this site. Extensive cemeteries of officials of the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom have been found around Dahshurs pyramids, Dahshur was Egypts royal necropolis during the reign of the 12th Dynasty king Amenemhat II. In July 2012, Dahshurs entire Christian community, which some estimate to be as many as 100 families, the violence began in a dispute over a badly ironed shirt, which in turn escalated into a fight in which a Christian burned a Muslim to death. This, in turn, sparked a rampage by angry Muslims, at least 16 homes and properties of Christians were pillaged, some were torched, and a church was damaged during the violence. Dahshur has a hot desert climate according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, List of Egyptian pyramids List of megalithic sites Acanthus, an old village in Dahsur mentioned in Ancient Greek literature

21.
Great Pyramid of Giza
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The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, initially at 146.5 metres, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. Originally, the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed an outer surface. Some of the stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories about the Great Pyramids construction techniques, most accepted construction hypotheses are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place. There are three chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished, the so-called Queens Chamber and Kings Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and was constructed over a 20-year period, Khufus vizier, Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid. It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall, each base side was 440 cubits,230.4 metres long. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes, the volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres. Based on these estimates, building the pyramid in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day, the first precision measurements of the pyramid were made by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published as The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. Almost all reports are based on his measurements, many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the casing stones, the mean opening of the joints is only 0.5 millimetre wide. The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, the accuracy of the pyramids workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length. The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm, the ratio of the perimeter to height of 1760/280 royal cubits equates to 2π to an accuracy of better than 0. 05%. Some Egyptologists consider this to have been the result of deliberate design proportion, verner wrote, We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of π, in practice they used it. Petrie, author of Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh concluded, but these relations of areas, others have argued that the Ancient Egyptians had no concept of pi and would not have thought to encode it in their monuments. They believe that the observed pyramid slope may be based on a simple seked slope choice alone, with no regard to the overall size, in 2013 rolls of papyrus were discovered written by some of those who delivered stone and other construction materials to Khufus brother at Giza

22.
Khufu
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Khufu, originally Khnum-Khufu, is the birth name of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty in the first half of the Old Kingdom period. Khufu was the pharaoh of the 4th dynasty, he followed his possible father, king Sneferu. He is generally accepted as having commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the only completely preserved portrait of the king is a three-inch high ivory figurine found in a temple ruin of later period at Abydos in 1903. All other reliefs and statues were found in fragments and many buildings of Khufu are lost, everything known about Khufu comes from inscriptions in his necropolis at Giza and later documents. For example, Khufu is the actor of the famous Papyrus Westcar from the 13th dynasty. Most documents that mention king Khufu were written by ancient Egyptian, thanks to these documents, an obscure and critical picture of Khufus personality persists. Khufus name was dedicated to the earth deity Khnum, which point to an increase of Khnums popularity. Khufu may have viewed himself as a creator, a role that was already given to Khnum. As a consequence, the king connected Khnums name with his own, interestingly, the pharaoh officially used two versions of his birth name, Khnum-khuf and Khufu. The first version clearly exhibits Khufus religious loyalty to Khnum, the version does not. It is unknown as to why the king would use a shortened version, since it hides the name of Khnum. It might be possible though, that the name wasnt meant to be connected to any god at all. Khufu is well known under his Hellenized name Khêops or Cheops and less well known under another Hellenized name, a rare version of the name of Khufu, used by Josephus, is Sofe. Arab historians, who wrote stories about Khufu and the Giza pyramids. The royal family of Khufu was quite large and it is uncertain if Khufu was actually the biological son of Sneferu. Mainstream Egyptologists believe Sneferu was Khufus father, but only because it was handed down by historians that the eldest son or a selected descendant would inherit the throne. In 1925 the tomb of queen Hetepheres I, G 7000x, was found east of Khufus pyramid and it contained many precious grave goods, and several inscriptions give her the title Mut-nesut, together with the name of king Sneferu. Therefore, it seemed clear at first that Hetepheres was the wife of Sneferu, more recently, however, some have doubted this theory, because Hetepheres is not known to have borne the title Hemet-nesut, a title indispensable to confirm a queens royal status

23.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם‎, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian

24.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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Although the list, in its current form, did not stabilise until the Renaissance, the first such lists of seven wonders date from the 1st-2nd century BC. The original list inspired innumerable versions through the ages, often listing seven entries, of the original Seven Wonders, only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the ancient wonders—remains relatively intact. The Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis, the location and ultimate fate of the Hanging Gardens are unknown, and there is speculation that they may not have existed at all. The Greek conquest of much of the western world in the 4th century BC gave Hellenistic travellers access to the civilizations of the Egyptians, Persians. Impressed and captivated by the landmarks and marvels of the various lands, instead of wonders, the ancient Greeks spoke of theamata, which means sights, in other words things to be seen. Later, the word for wonder was used, hence, the list was meant to be the Ancient Worlds counterpart of a travel guidebook. The first reference to a list of seven such monuments was given by Diodorus Siculus, — Greek Anthology IX.58 Another 2nd century BC observer, who claimed to be the mathematician Philo of Byzantium, wrote a short account entitled The Seven Sights of the World. However, the surviving manuscript only covered six of the supposedly seven places. Earlier and later lists by the historian Herodotus and the architect Callimachus of Cyrene, housed at the Museum of Alexandria, survived only as references. The Colossus of Rhodes was the last of the seven to be completed, after 280 BC, hence, all seven existed at the same time for a period of less than 60 years. The list covered only the sculptural and architectural monuments of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions, hence, extant sites beyond this realm were not considered as part of contemporary accounts. The primary accounts, coming from Hellenistic writers, also influenced the places included in the wonders list. Five of the seven entries are a celebration of Greek accomplishments in the arts, the seven wonders on Antipaters list won praises for their notable features, ranging from superlatives of the highest or largest of their types, to the artistry with which they were executed. Their architectural and artistic features were imitated throughout the Hellenistic world, the Greek influence in Roman culture, and the revival of Greco-Roman artistic styles during the Renaissance caught the imagination of European artists and travellers. Paintings and sculptures alluding to Antipaters list were made, while adventurers flocked to the sites to personally witness the wonders. Legends circulated to further complement the superlatives of the wonders, of Antipaters wonders, the only one that has survived to the present day is the Great Pyramid of Giza. Its brilliant white stone facing had survived intact until around 1300 AD, the existence of the Hanging Gardens has not been proven, although theories abound. Records and archaeology confirm the existence of the other five wonders, the Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus were destroyed by fire, while the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Colossus, and tomb of Mausolus were destroyed by earthquakes

25.
Limestone
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble

26.
Tura, Egypt
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Tora was a site in ancient Egypt, located about halfway between modern Cairo and Helwan. It was Egypts primary quarry for limestone, Tora was known to the ancient Egyptians as Troyu or Royu. This name was misinterpreted by Strabo to mean that it was inhabited by Trojans and this site was located at 30°00′N 31°16′E, and its site is occupied by the modern town of Tora in the Cairo Governorate. The Tura limestone was deep underground and instead of open-pit mining, the caves were adapted by British forces during World War II to store ammunition, aircraft bombs, and other explosives. These tunnels were surveyed in 1941, and in quarry 35, workmen found many loose quires from books by Origen and Didymus the Blind, two Alexandrian Church Fathers. The workers who found them stole them, and although some were seized by the authorities, most are still missing and it is believed that some of the original books could have been up to 480 pages. Tora is notorious for hosting the large Tora Prison, which has held many high-profile inmates, including former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak

27.
Chogha Zanbil
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Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existent ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia and it lies approximately 30 km south-east of Susa and 80 km north of Ahvaz. It was built about 1250 BC by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honor the great god Inshushinak and its original name was Dur Untash, which means town of Untash, but it is unlikely that many people, besides priests and servants, ever lived there. The complex is protected by three walls which define the main areas of the town. The inner area is taken up with a great ziggurat dedicated to the main god. The middle area holds eleven temples for lesser gods and it is believed that twenty-two temples were originally planned, but the king died before they could be finished, and his successors discontinued the building work. In the outer area are royal palaces, a funerary palace containing five subterranean royal tombs, the main building materials in Chogha Zanbil were mud bricks and occasionally baked bricks. The monuments were decorated with glazed baked bricks, gypsum and ornaments of faïence, ornamenting the most important buildings were thousands of baked bricks bearing inscriptions with Elamite cuneiform characters were all inscribed by hand. Glazed terracotta statues such as bulls and winged griffins guarded the entrances to the ziggurat, near the temples of Kiririsha and Hishmitik-Ruhuratir, kilns were found that were probably used for the production of baked bricks and decorative materials. It is believed that the ziggurat was built in two stages and it took its multi-layered form in the second phase. The ziggurat is considered to be the best preserved example in the world, in 1979, Chogha Zanbil became the first Iranian site to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Choga Zanbil was excavated in six seasons between 1951 and 1961 by Roman Ghirshman, petroleum exploration due to increased global demand threatens the foundations of the site, as various seismic tests have been undertaken to explore for reserves of petroleum. Digging for oil has been undertaken as close as 300 metres away from the ziggurat,1, pp. 112–113,1955 Roman Ghirshman, Cinquième campagne de fouilles à Tchoga-Zanbil, près Suse, rapport préliminaire, Comptes-rendus des séances de lAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol. 3, pp. 335–345,1956 Roman Ghirshman, Les fouilles de Tchoga-Zanbil, près de Suse, Comptes-rendus des séances de lAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol. 2, pp. 137–138,1956 Roman Ghirshman, VIe campagne de fouilles à Tchoga-Zanbil près de Suse, rapport préliminaire, Comptes-rendus des séances de lAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol. 3, pp. 231–241,1957 Roman Ghirshman, FouiIles de Tchoga-Zanbil près de Suse, complexe de quatre temples, Comptes-rendus des séances de lAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol. 1, pp. 74–76,1959 Roman Ghirshman, VIIe campagne de fouilles à Tchoga-Zanbil, près de Suse, rapport préliminaire, Comptes-rendus des séances de lAcadémie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, vol. 2, pp. 287–297,1959 P. Amiet, Marlik et Tchoga Zanbil, Revue dAssyriologie et dArchéologie Orientale, vol

28.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably

29.
Mesopotamia
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In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. The Sumerians and Akkadians dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of history to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire. Mesopotamia became a battleground between the Romans and Parthians, with parts of Mesopotamia coming under ephemeral Roman control. In AD226, eastern part of it fell to the Sassanid Persians, division of Mesopotamia between Roman and Sassanid Empires lasted until the 7th century Muslim conquest of Persia of the Sasanian Empire and Muslim conquest of the Levant from Byzantines. A number of primarily neo-Assyrian and Christian native Mesopotamian states existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD, including Adiabene, Osroene, and Hatra, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. The regional toponym Mesopotamia comes from the ancient Greek root words μέσος middle and ποταμός river and it is used throughout the Greek Septuagint to translate the Hebrew equivalent Naharaim. In the Anabasis, Mesopotamia was used to designate the land east of the Euphrates in north Syria, the Aramaic term biritum/birit narim corresponded to a similar geographical concept. The neighbouring steppes to the west of the Euphrates and the part of the Zagros Mountains are also often included under the wider term Mesopotamia. A further distinction is made between Northern or Upper Mesopotamia and Southern or Lower Mesopotamia. Upper Mesopotamia, also known as the Jazira, is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to Baghdad, Lower Mesopotamia is the area from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf and includes Kuwait and parts of western Iran. In modern academic usage, the term Mesopotamia often also has a chronological connotation and it is usually used to designate the area until the Muslim conquests, with names like Syria, Jazirah, and Iraq being used to describe the region after that date. It has been argued that these later euphemisms are Eurocentric terms attributed to the region in the midst of various 19th-century Western encroachments, Mesopotamia encompasses the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, both of which have their headwaters in the Armenian Highlands. Both rivers are fed by tributaries, and the entire river system drains a vast mountainous region. Overland routes in Mesopotamia usually follow the Euphrates because the banks of the Tigris are frequently steep and difficult. The climate of the region is semi-arid with a vast desert expanse in the north which gives way to a 15,000 square kilometres region of marshes, lagoons, mud flats, in the extreme south, the Euphrates and the Tigris unite and empty into the Persian Gulf. In the marshlands to the south of the area, a complex water-borne fishing culture has existed since prehistoric times, periodic breakdowns in the cultural system have occurred for a number of reasons. Alternatively, military vulnerability to invasion from marginal hill tribes or nomadic pastoralists has led to periods of trade collapse and these trends have continued to the present day in Iraq

30.
Ziggurat
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A ziggurat was a massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia and the western Iranian plateau. It had the form of a step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, Ziggurats were built by the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the fourth millennium BCE, the earliest ziggurats began as a platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside, each step was slightly smaller than the step below it. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance, kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of floors ranged from two to seven, according to archaeologist Harriet Crawford, It is usually assumed that the ziggurats supported a shrine, though the only evidence for this comes from Herodotus, and physical evidence is nonexistent. It has also suggested by a number of scholars that this shrine was the scene of the sacred marriage. Herodotus describes the furnishing of the shrine on top of the ziggurat at Babylon, the god Marduk was also said to come and sleep in his shrine. The likelihood of such a shrine ever being found is sadly remote, erosion has usually reduced the surviving ziggurats to a fraction of their original height, but textual evidence may yet provide more facts about the purpose of these shrines. Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god, only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society, one of the best-preserved ziggurats is Chogha Zanbil in western Iran. The Sialk ziggurat, in Kashan, Iran, is the oldest known ziggurat, Ziggurat designs ranged from simple bases upon which a temple sat, to marvels of mathematics and construction which spanned several terraced stories and were topped with a temple. An example of a simple ziggurat is the White Temple of Uruk, the ziggurat itself is the base on which the White Temple is set. Its purpose is to get the temple closer to the heavens, the Mesopotamians believed that these pyramid temples connected heaven and earth

31.
Sumer
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Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers were able to grow an abundance of grain and other crops, the surplus of which enabled them to settle in one place. Proto-writing in the dates back to c.3000 BC. The earliest texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr and date back to 3300 BC, modern historians have suggested that Sumer was first permanently settled between c.5500 and 4000 BC by a West Asian people who spoke the Sumerian language, an agglutinative language isolate. These conjectured, prehistoric people are now called proto-Euphrateans or Ubaidians, some scholars contest the idea of a Proto-Euphratean language or one substrate language. Reliable historical records begin much later, there are none in Sumer of any kind that have dated before Enmebaragesi. Juris Zarins believes the Sumerians lived along the coast of Eastern Arabia, todays Persian Gulf region, Sumerian civilization took form in the Uruk period, continuing into the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic periods. During the 3rd millennium BC, a cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians, who spoke a language isolate, and Akkadian-speakers, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a scale, to syntactic, morphological. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the 3rd millennium BC as a Sprachbund, Sumer was conquered by the Semitic-speaking kings of the Akkadian Empire around 2270 BC, but Sumerian continued as a sacred language. Native Sumerian rule re-emerged for about a century in the Neo-Sumerian Empire or Third Dynasty of Ur approximately 2100-2000 BC, the term Sumerian is the common name given to the ancient non-Semitic-speaking inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Sumer, by the East Semitic-speaking Akkadians. The Sumerians referred to themselves as ùĝ saĝ gíg ga, phonetically /uŋ saŋ gi ga/, literally meaning the black-headed people, the Akkadian word Shumer may represent the geographical name in dialect, but the phonological development leading to the Akkadian term šumerû is uncertain. Hebrew Shinar, Egyptian Sngr, and Hittite Šanhar, all referring to southern Mesopotamia, in the late 4th millennium BC, Sumer was divided into many independent city-states, which were divided by canals and boundary stones. Each was centered on a dedicated to the particular patron god or goddess of the city. The Sumerian city-states rose to power during the prehistoric Ubaid and Uruk periods, classical Sumer ends with the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the 23rd century BC. Following the Gutian period, there is a brief Sumerian Renaissance in the 21st century BC, the Amorite dynasty of Isin persisted until c.1700 BC, when Mesopotamia was united under Babylonian rule. The Sumerians were eventually absorbed into the Akkadian population, 2500–2334 BC Akkadian Empire period, c. 2218–2047 BC Ur III period, c, 2047–1940 BC The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery which spread throughout Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf. It appears that this culture was derived from the Samarran culture from northern Mesopotamia and it is not known whether or not these were the actual Sumerians who are identified with the later Uruk culture

32.
Babylon
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Babylon was a major city of ancient Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city was built upon the Euphrates and divided in parts along its left and right banks. Babylon was originally a small Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c.2300 BC, the town attained independence as part of a small city-state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Babylon grew and South Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia, the empire quickly dissolved after Hammurabis death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. After being destroyed and then rebuilt by the Assyrians, Babylon became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 609 to 539 BC, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rule of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman, and Sassanid empires. It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from c.1770 to 1670 BC and it was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. Estimates for the extent of its area range from 890 to 900 hectares. The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometres south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings, the English Babylon comes from Greek Babylṓn, a transliteration of the Akkadian Babili. The Babylonian name in the early 2nd millennium BC had been Babilli or Babilla, by the 1st millennium BC, it had changed to Babili under the influence of the folk etymology which traced it to bāb-ili. The Gate of God or Gate of El being from the Aramaic Hebrew Bab for Gate and El for God and this being similar to the Hebrew word for confusion Balal. In the Bible, the name appears as Babel, interpreted in the Hebrew Scriptures Book of Genesis to mean confusion, the modern English verb, to babble, or to speak meaningless words, is popularly thought to derive from this name, but there is no direct connection. The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings and debris. The site at Babylon consists of a number of mounds covering an area of about 2 by 1 kilometer, oriented north to south, along the Euphrates to the west. Originally, the river roughly bisected the city, but the course of the river has since shifted so that most of the remains of the western part of the city are now inundated. Some portions of the city wall to the west of the river also remain, remains of the city include, Kasr—also called Palace or Castle, it is the location of the Neo-Babylonian ziggurat Etemenanki and lies in the center of the site. Amran Ibn Ali—the highest of the mounds at 25 meters, to the south and it is the site of Esagila, a temple of Marduk which also contained shrines to Ea and Nabu. Homera—a reddish colored mound on the west side, most of the Hellenistic remains are here

33.
Akkadian Empire
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The empire united all the Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule. The Akkadian Empire controlled Mesopotamia, the Levant, and eastern and southern parts of Anatolia and Iran, sending military expeditions as far south as Dilmun and Magan in the Arabian Peninsula. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed an intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism. Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language somewhere between the 3rd and the 2nd millennia BC, the Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests by its founder Sargon of Akkad. Under Sargon and his successors, the Akkadian language was imposed on neighboring conquered states such as Elam. Akkad is sometimes regarded as the first empire in history, though there are earlier Sumerian claimants, the Bible refers to Akkad in Genesis 10,10, which states that the beginning of Nimrods kingdom was in the land of Akkad. Nimrod is a Hebrew name not attested in Mesopotamians sources, many have pointed out similarities with the legend of Gilgamesh who founded Uruk, which is said to be the city Nimrod came to power. Today, some 7,000 texts from the Akkadian period alone are known, many later texts from the successor states of Assyria and Babylonia also deal with the Akkadian Empire. Understanding of the Akkadian Empire continues to be hampered by the fact that its capital Akkad has not yet been located, likewise, material that is thought to be Akkadian continues to be in use into the Ur III period. Many of the recent insights on the Akkadian Empire have come from excavations in the Upper Khabur area in modern northeastern Syria which was to become a part of Assyria after the fall of Akkad. For example, excavations at Tell Mozan brought to light a sealing of Taram-Agade, an unknown daughter of Naram-Sin. The excavators at nearby Tell Leilan have used the results from their investigations to argue that the Akkadian Empire came to an end due to a sudden drought, the so-called 4.2 kiloyear event. The impact of this event on Mesopotamia in general, and on the Akkadian Empire in particular. The Akkadian Period is contemporary with, EB IV, EB IVA and EJ IV, the absolute dates of their reigns are approximate. The Akkadian Empire takes its name from the region and city of Akkad, although the city of Akkad has not yet been identified on the ground, it is known from various textual sources. Among these is at least one text predating the reign of Sargon, together with the fact that the name Akkad is of non-Akkadian origin, this suggests that the city of Akkad may have already been occupied in pre-Sargonic times. Sargon of Akkad defeated and captured Lugal-Zage-Si in the Battle of Uruk, the earliest records in the Akkadian language date to the time of Sargon. Sargon was claimed to be the son of Laibum or Itti-Bel, a humble gardener, One legend related of Sargon in Assyrian times says that My mother was a changeling, my father I knew not

34.
Assyria
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Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant. Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Assyria is named after its capital, the ancient city of Aššur. In the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Assyrian kings were pastoral leaders, Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where Assyria, its empires and the Assyrian people were centered. The indigenous modern Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrian Christian ethnic minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, southeast Turkey, in prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria was home to a Neanderthal culture such as has been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria were the Jarmo culture c.7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, during the 3rd millennium BC, a very intimate cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians and the Akkadians throughout Mesopotamia, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian, and vice versa, is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a scale, to syntactic, morphological. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium BC as a sprachbund and it is highly likely that the city was named in honour of its patron Assyrian god with the same name. The city of Aššur, together with a number of other Assyrian cities, however it is likely that they were initially Sumerian-dominated administrative centres. In the late 26th century BC, Eannatum of Lagash, then the dominant Sumerian ruler in Mesopotamia, similarly, in c. the early 25th century BC, Lugal-Anne-Mundu the king of the Sumerian state of Adab lists Subartu as paying tribute to him. Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is known, in the Assyrian King List, the earliest king recorded was Tudiya. According to Georges Roux he would have lived in the mid 25th century BC, Tudiya was succeeded on the list by Adamu, the first known reference to the Semitic name Adam and then a further thirteen rulers. The earliest kings, such as Tudiya, who are recorded as kings who lived in tents, were independent semi-nomadic pastoralist rulers and these kings at some point became fully urbanised and founded the city state of Ashur in the mid 21st century BC. During the Akkadian Empire, the Assyrians, like all the Mesopotamian Semites, became subject to the dynasty of the city state of Akkad, the Akkadian Empire founded by Sargon the Great claimed to encompass the surrounding four quarters. Assyrian rulers were subject to Sargon and his successors, and the city of Ashur became an administrative center of the Empire. On those tablets, Assyrian traders in Burushanda implored the help of their ruler, Sargon the Great, the name Hatti itself even appears in later accounts of his grandson, Naram-Sin, campaigning in Anatolia. Assyrian and Akkadian traders spread the use of writing in the form of the Mesopotamian cuneiform script to Asia Minor, the Akkadian Empire was destroyed by economic decline and internal civil war, followed by attacks from barbarian Gutian people in 2154 BC. The rulers of Assyria during the period between c.2154 BC and 2112 BC once again fully independent, as the Gutians are only known to have administered southern Mesopotamia

35.
Ubaid period
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The Ubaid period is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The name derives from Tell al-Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially by Henry Hall, in South Mesopotamia the period is the earliest known period on the alluvial plain although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under the alluvium. In the south it has a long duration between about 6500 and 3800 BCE when it is replaced by the Uruk period In North Mesopotamia the period runs only between about 5300 and 4300 BCE. It is preceded by the Halaf period and the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period, the term Ubaid period was coined at a conference in Baghdad in 1930, where at the same time the Jemdet Nasr and Uruk periods were defined. This phase, showing clear connection to the Samarra culture to the north and these people pioneered the growing of grains in the extreme conditions of aridity, thanks to the high water tables of Southern Iraq. Ubaid 2 —, after the site of the same name. Ubaid artifacts spread also all along the Arabian littoral, showing the growth of a system that stretched from the Mediterranean coast through to Oman. Spreading from Eridu the Ubaid culture extended from the Middle of the Tigris and Euphrates to the shores of the Persian Gulf, and then spread down past Bahrain to the copper deposits at Oman. At this time, increased aridity led to an end in semi-desert nomadism, and there is no evidence of presence in the area for approximately 1000 years. That might be due to the 5.9 kiloyear event at the end of the Older Peron, but in the north, stone and sometimes metal were used. Villages thus contained specialised craftspeople, potters, weavers and metalworkers, although the bulk of the population were labourers, farmers. During the Ubaid Period, the movement towards urbanization began, agriculture and animal husbandry were widely practiced in sedentary communities. There were also tribes that practiced domesticating animals as far north as Turkey, the Ubaid period as a whole, based upon the analysis of grave goods, was one of increasingly polarised social stratification and decreasing egalitarianism. Bogucki describes this as a phase of Trans-egalitarian competitive households, in which some fall behind as a result of social mobility. Ubaid culture originated in the south, but still has connections to earlier cultures in the region of middle Iraq. The appearance of the Ubaid folk has sometimes been linked to the so-called Sumerian problem, stein and Özbal describe the Near East oecumene that resulted from Ubaid expansion, contrasting it to the colonial expansionism of the later Uruk period. The earliest evidence for sailing has been found in Kuwait indicating that sailing was known by the Ubaid 3 period, Ubaid house Tell Zeidan Martin, Harriet P. The Early Dynastic Cemetery at al-Ubaid, a Re-Evaluation, pottery Kiln Sites at al Ubaid and Eridu

36.
Early Dynastic Period of Sumer
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The Early Dynastic period is an archaeological culture in southern Mesopotamia, generally dated to approximately 2900–2350 BC. It was preceded by the Uruk period and Jemdet Nasr period, which saw the formation of the first states, the first cities, and the invention of writing. The ED period itself was characterized by the existence of multiple city-states and this development ultimately led to the unification of much of southern Mesopotamia under the rule of Sargon of Akkad, the first king of the Akkadian Empire. Despite this political fragmentation, the Early Dynastic city-states shared a relatively homogeneous material culture, Sumerian cities like Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Umma and Nippur, located in the south of Mesopotamia, were very powerful and influential. To the north and west stretched states centered on such as Kish, Mari, Nagar. The study of central and southern Mesopotamia has long been given priority over neighboring regions, as a result, this area was always better known than neighboring regions. The excavation and publication of the archives of Ebla have changed this perspective, shedding light on surrounding areas such as southwestern Iran, Upper Mesopotamia. The term Early Dynastic Period which was coined by archaeologist Henri Frankfort, since then, the ED I–III has been widely applied to excavations elsewhere in Iraq. During the 20th century, many archaeologists also tried to impose the scheme of ED I–III upon archaeological remains of the third millennium excavated elsewhere in Iraq and in northeastern Syria. However, accumulating evidence from elsewhere in Iraq has shown that the ED I–III periodization as reconstructed for the Diyala region cannot be directly applied to other regions. Research in Syria has likewise shown that there were quite different from those in the Diyala or southern Iraq. The use of the ED I–III chronology is now limited to southern Mesopotamia, with the ED II period sometimes being further restricted to the Diyala region. The ED period is preceded by the Jemdet Nasr period and succeeded by the Akkadian Period, during which, for the first time in history, large parts of Mesopotamia were united under a single ruler. The entire ED period is now dated to approximately 2900–2350 BC according to the Middle Chronology. The ED period is divided into sub-periods ED I, ED II, ED IIIa. ED I–III are more or less contemporary with the Early Jezirah I–III periods in northern Mesopotamia, the ED scheme is an archaeological subdivision that does not reflect political developments, as is the case for the periods that follow upon it. The reason for this is that the history of the ED period is unknown for most of its duration. As with the subdivision, the reconstruction of political events is hotly debated among researchers

37.
Brick
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A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term referred to a unit composed of clay. A brick can be composed of clay-bearing soil, sand, and lime, Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk quantities. Two basic categories of bricks are fired and non-fired bricks, block is a similar term referring to a rectangular building unit composed of similar materials, but is usually larger than a brick. Lightweight bricks are made from expanded clay aggregate, fired bricks are one of the longest-lasting and strongest building materials, sometimes referred to as artificial stone, and have been used since circa 5000 BC. Air-dried bricks, also known as mudbricks, have an older than fired bricks. Bricks are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds, collectively known as brickwork, the earliest bricks were dried brick, meaning that they were formed from clay-bearing earth or mud and dried until they were strong enough for use. The oldest discovered bricks, originally made from shaped mud and dating before 7500 BC, were found at Tell Aswad, in the upper Tigris region, ceramic, or fired brick was used as early as 3000 BC in early Indus Valley cities. In pre-modern China, bricks were being used from the 2nd millennium BCE at a site near Xian, the carpenters manual Yingzao Fashi, published in 1103 at the time of the Song dynasty described the brick making process and glazing techniques then in use. He also had to know when to quench the kiln with water so as to produce the surface glaze, Early civilisations around the Mediterranean adopted the use of fired bricks, including the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Roman legions operated mobile kilns, and built large brick structures throughout the Roman Empire, during the Early Middle Ages the use of bricks in construction became popular in Northern Europe, after being introduced there from Northern-Western Italy. An independent style of architecture, known as brick Gothic flourished in places that lacked indigenous sources of rocks. Examples of this style can be found in modern-day Denmark, Germany, Poland. A clear distinction between the two styles developed at the transition to Baroque architecture. In Lübeck, for example, Brick Renaissance is clearly recognisable in buildings equipped with terracotta reliefs by the artist Statius von Düren, production of bricks increased massively with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the rise in factory building in England. For reasons of speed and economy, bricks were increasingly preferred as building material to stone and it was at this time in London, that bright red brick was chosen for construction to make the buildings more visible in the heavy fog and to help prevent traffic accidents. The transition from the method of production known as hand-moulding to a mechanised form of mass-production slowly took place during the first half of the nineteenth century. His mechanical apparatus soon achieved widespread attention after it was adopted for use by the South Eastern Railway Company for brick-making at their factory near Folkestone, the Bradley & Craven Ltd ‘Stiff-Plastic Brickmaking Machine’ was patented in 1853, apparently predating Clayton

38.
Astrology
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Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Throughout most of its history astrology was considered a tradition and was common in academic circles, often in close relation with astronomy, alchemy, meteorology. It was present in political circles, and is mentioned in works of literature, from Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer to William Shakespeare, Lope de Vega. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in it has largely declined, Astrology is now recognized to be pseudoscience. The word astrology comes from the early Latin word astrologia, which derives from the Greek ἀστρολογία—from ἄστρον astron, astrologia later passed into meaning star-divination with astronomia used for the scientific term. Many cultures have attached importance to astronomical events, and the Indians, Chinese, the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems. Astrology has been dated to at least the 2nd millennium BCE, with roots in systems used to predict seasonal shifts. A form of astrology was practised in the first dynasty of Mesopotamia, Chinese astrology was elaborated in the Zhou dynasty. Hellenistic astrology after 332 BCE mixed Babylonian astrology with Egyptian Decanic astrology in Alexandria, Alexander the Greats conquest of Asia allowed astrology to spread to Ancient Greece and Rome. In Rome, astrology was associated with Chaldean wisdom, after the conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century, astrology was taken up by Islamic scholars, and Hellenistic texts were translated into Arabic and Persian. In the 12th century, Arabic texts were imported to Europe, major astronomers including Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo practised as court astrologers. Astrological references appear in literature in the works of such as Dante Alighieri and Geoffrey Chaucer. Throughout most of its history, astrology was considered a scholarly tradition and it was accepted in political and academic contexts, and was connected with other studies, such as astronomy, alchemy, meteorology, and medicine. At the end of the 17th century, new concepts in astronomy. Astrology thus lost its academic and theoretical standing, and common belief in astrology has largely declined, Astrology, in its broadest sense, is the search for meaning in the sky. This was a first step towards recording the Moons influence upon tides and rivers, by the 3rd millennium BCE, civilisations had sophisticated awareness of celestial cycles, and may have oriented temples in alignment with heliacal risings of the stars. Scattered evidence suggests that the oldest known references are copies of texts made in the ancient world. The Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa thought to be compiled in Babylon around 1700 BCE, a scroll documenting an early use of electional astrology is doubtfully ascribed to the reign of the Sumerian ruler Gudea of Lagash

39.
Herodotus
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Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact, of these only fragments of Hecataeuss work survive yet they allow us glimpses into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories. In his introduction to Hecataeus’s work, Genealogies, This points forward to the ‘folksy’ yet ‘international’ outlook typical of Herodotus. Yet, one scholar has described the work of Hecataeus as “a curious false start to history” since despite his critical spirit. It is possible that Herodotus borrowed much material from Hecataeus, as stated by Porphyry in a recorded by Eusebius. But Hecataeus did not record events that had occurred in living memory, unlike Herodotus, Herodotus claims to be better informed than his predecessors by relying on empirical observation to correct their excessive schematism. For example, He argues for continental asymmetry as opposed to the theory of a perfectly circular earth with Europe. Yet, he retains idealizing tendencies, as in his notions of the Danube. His debt to previous authors of prose ‘histories’ might be questionable, however, this point is one of the most contentious issues in modern scholarship. It is on account of the strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics in early modern times branded him “The Father of Lies”. Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement, similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a “logos-writer”. Moreover, Thucydides developed a historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view, the interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus’s own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, modern accounts of his life typically go something like this, Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus around 484 BC. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League, the epic poet Panyassis – a relative of Herodotus – is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. Herodotus expresses affection for the island of Samos, and this is an indication that he might have lived there in his youth. So it is possible that his family was involved in an uprising against Lygdamis, leading to a period of exile on Samos, Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect, yet he was born in Halicarnassus, which was a Dorian settlement

40.
Religions of the Ancient Near East
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The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some early examples of primitive monolatry, Ashurism and Monism. Some scholars believe that the similarities between these religions indicate that the religions are related, a known as patternism. Many religions of the ancient near East and their offshoots can be traced to Proto-Semitic religion, other religions in the ancient Near East include Ancient Egyptian religion, the Luwian and Hittite religions of Asia Minor and the Sumerian religion of ancient Mesopotamia. Offshoots of Proto-Semitic religion include Assyro-Babylonian religion, Canaanite religion, judaism is a development of Canaanite religion, both Indo-European and Semitic religions influenced the ancient Greek religion, and Zoroastrianism was a product of ancient Indo-Iranian religion. The history of the ancient Near East spans more than two millennia, from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, in the now known as the Middle East. This article will attempt to outline the common traits of ancient Near Eastern religions,2500 BC, allow glimpses of Sumerian mythology and Egyptian religion. The early Hittite religion bore traits descended from Proto-Indo-European religion, Ancient Greek religion was strongly influenced by ancient Near Eastern mythology, but is usually not included in the term. The Mystery religions of Hellenism were again consciously connected with Egyptian religion, there were also super-regional mythemes and deities, such as the God Tammuz and the descent to the underworld. The system represents a combination of two factors, one of popular origin, the other the outcome of speculation in the schools attached to the temples of Babylonia. Starting with this belief the Priests and Priestesses built up the theory of the correspondence between occurrences on earth and phenomena in the Heavens. Myths that symbolized changes in season or occurrences in nature were projected on the heavens and this factor appears to less advantage in the unfolding of the views concerning life after death. Occasionally a favoured individual was permitted to escape from this general fate, in Assyrian and Babylonian mythology the seven evil Demons were known as Shedu or Lamassu, meaning Storm-Demon. Ancient Iranian lands had a diversity of beliefs, and the religions included Zoroastrianism, Mazdakism, Manicheism, Yazdanism, Mandeanism. Thus it has proved by clear evidence and plain reasoning that a powerful monarch was established in Iran long before the Assyrian or Pishadi government. That it was in fact, a Hindu monarchy, though any may choose to call it Cusian, Casdean or Scythian, Ancient Mitanni is modern-day Kurdistan, and from excavations it was discovered to have a history of Vedic practices and the Hindu religion. The dominant religious rituals and beliefs of ancient Egypt merged and developed over time, as an example, during the New Kingdom, the Gods Ra and Amun were syncretized into a single God, Amun-Ra. Such syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings, also referred to as such as Amun, Mut. Over time, Gods took part in multiple syncretic relationships, for instance, similarly, Ptah, Seker, and Osiris becamePtah-Seker-Osiris

41.
Electrum
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Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It has also been produced artificially, and is known as green gold. The ancient Greeks called it gold or white gold, as opposed to refined gold and its colour ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. This suggests that one reason for the invention of coinage in that area was to increase the profits from seigniorage by issuing currency with a gold content than the commonly circulating metal. Electrum was used as early as the third millennium BC in Old Kingdom of Egypt, sometimes as a coating to the pyramidions atop ancient Egyptian pyramids. It was also used in the making of ancient drinking vessels, the first metal coins ever made were of electrum and date back to the end of the 7th century or the beginning of the 6th century BC. For several decades, the medals awarded with the Nobel Prize have been made of gold-plated green gold, the name electrum was also used to denote German ‘silver’, mainly for its use in making technical instruments. The name electrum is the Latinized form of the Greek word ἤλεκτρον, electrum was often referred to as white gold in ancient times, but could be more accurately described as pale gold, as it is usually pale yellow or yellowish-white in colour. The modern use of the white gold usually concerns gold alloyed with any one or a combination of nickel, silver. Electrum consists primarily of gold and silver but is found with traces of platinum, copper. The name is mostly applied informally to compositions between about 20-80% gold and 20-80% silver atoms, but these are called gold or silver depending on the dominant element. Analysis of the composition of electrum in ancient Greek coinage dating from about 600 BC shows that the content was about 55. 5% in the coinage issued by Phocaea. In the early period, the gold content of electrum ranged from 46% in Phokaia to 43% in Mytilene. In later coinage from these areas, dating to 326 BC, in the Hellenistic period, electrum coins with a regularly decreasing proportion of gold were issued by the Carthaginians. In the later Eastern Roman Empire controlled from Constantinople, the purity of the coinage was reduced. Electrum is mentioned in an account of an expedition sent by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and it is also discussed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia. Electrum is possibly referred to three times in the Bible, in all three instances it is used to describe a type of glow seen in visions by the prophet Ezekiel. Electrum is believed to have used in coins circa 600 BC in Lydia under the reign of Alyattes II

42.
Third Dynasty
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For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth, the capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis. After the turbulent last years of the Second Dynasty which might have included civil war, Egypt came under the rule of Djoser, both the Turin King List and the Abydos King List record five kings, while the Saqqara Tablet only records four. Djoser’s successor was Sekhemkhet who had the nebty name Djeserty, the last king of the dynasty is Huni. There are three remaining Horus names of known 3rd dynasty kings, Sanakht, Khaba and perhaps Qahedjet, one of these three went by the nebty name Nebka. Dating the Third Dynasty is similarly challenging, shaw gives the dates as being approximately from 2686 to 2613 BC. The Turin King List suggests a total of 75 years for the third dynasty, baines and Malek have placed the third dynasty as spanning the years 2650 –2575 BC, while Dodson and Hilton date the dynasty to 2584 –2520 BC. It is not uncommon for these estimates to differ by more than a century, a radiocarbon study done of the period in 2010 gives a reign for Djoser between roughly 2691 to 2625 BC. The pharaohs of the Third Dynasty ruled for approximately seventy-five years, the order of the kings is based on Wilkinson. The number of years as king, the years, is based on Dodson and Hilton. They have the dynasty lasting only 64 years, more importantly, seals naming Djoser were found at the entrance to Khasekhemwys tomb at Abydos, which demonstrates that it was Djoser, rather than Sanakht, who buried and succeeded this king. The Turin King List scribe wrote Djosers name in red ink, in any case, Djoser is the best known king of this dynasty, for commissioning his vizier Imhotep to build the earliest surviving pyramids, the Step Pyramid. Some authorities believe that Imhotep lived into the reign of the Pharaoh Huni, little is known for certain of Sekhemkhet. However, it is believed that Khaba possibly built the Layer Pyramid at Zawyet elAryan

43.
Djoser
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Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom and the founder of this epoch. He is well known under his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos and he was the son of king Khasekhemwy and queen Nimaathap, but if he also was the direct throne successor is still unclear. The painted limestone statue of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue, today at the site in Saqqara where it was found, a plaster copy of the statue stands in place of the original. The statue was found during the Antiquities Service Excavations of 1924–1925, in contemporary inscriptions, he is called Netjerikhet, meaning divine of body. Later sources, which include a New Kingdom reference to his construction, help confirm that Netjerikhet, more significantly, the English Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson has demonstrated that burial seals found at the entrance to Khasekhemwys tomb in Abydos name only Djoser, rather than Nebka. This supports the view that it was Djoser who buried and, hence, directly succeeded Khasekhemwy and this is also suggested by another jar sealing, dating to Djosers reign, calling her Mother of the King of the Two Lands. Her cult seems to have still been active in the reign of Sneferu. Inetkawes was their only known by name. There was also a royal female attested during Djosers reign. The relationship between Djoser and his successor, Sekhemkhet, is not known, and the date of his death is uncertain, manetho states Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty-nine years, while the Turin King List states it was only nineteen years. Because of his many building projects, particularly at Saqqara. Manethos figure appears to be accurate, according to Wilkinsons analysis. Unfortunately, next to all entrances are illegible today, the Year of coronation is preserved, followed by the year events receiving the twin-pillars and stretching the cords for the fortress Qau-Netjerw. Djoser dispatched several military expeditions to the Sinai Peninsula, during which the inhabitants were subdued. He also sent expeditions there to mine for minerals such as turquoise. This is known from inscriptions found in the desert there, sometimes displaying the banner of Seth alongside the symbols of Horus, the Sinai was also strategically important as a buffer between the Nile valley and Asia. His most famous monument was his step pyramid, which entailed the construction of several mastaba tombs one over another and these forms would eventually lead to the standard pyramid tomb in the later Old Kingdom. Some fragmentary reliefs found at Heliopolis and Gebelein mention Djosers name, also, he may have fixed the southern boundary of his kingdom at the First Cataract

44.
Imhotep
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Imhotep was an Egyptian polymath who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He was one of only a few ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis, from the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously referenced in poems, I have heard the words of Imhotep, the location of Imhoteps self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara, according to myth, Imhoteps mother was a mortal named Kheredu-ankh, elevated later to semi-divine status by claims that she was the daughter of Banebdjedet. Alternatively, since Imhotep was known as the Son of Ptah, his mother was claimed to be Sekhmet. According to another tale, his father may have been an architect named Kanofer, the latter inscription suggests that Imhotep outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of King Sekhemkhets pyramid, which was abandoned due to this rulers brief reign. The Upper Egyptian Famine Stela, which dates from the Ptolemaic period, Imhotep is credited with having been instrumental in ending it. One of his priests explained the connection between the god Khnum and the rise of the Nile to the king, who then had a dream in which the Nile god spoke to him, promising to end the drought. A demotic papyrus from the ancient Egyptian temple of Tebtunis, dating to the 2nd century AD, King Djoser plays a prominent role in the story, which also mentions Imhoteps family, his father the god Ptah, his mother Khereduankh, and his little-sister Renpetneferet. At one point Djoser desires the young Renpetneferet, and Imhotep disguises himself, the text also refers to the royal tomb of Djoser. An anachronistic detail is a battle between the Egyptian and Assyrian armies where Imhotep fights an Assyrian sorceress in a duel of magic, Imhotep was one of the chief officials of the Pharaoh Djoser. Egyptologists ascribe to him the design of the Pyramid of Djoser and he may also have been responsible for the first known use of stone columns to support a building. Despite these later attestations, the pharaonic Egyptians themselves never credited Imhotep as the designer of the Stepped Pyramid nor with the invention of stone architecture, as an instigator of Egyptian culture, Imhoteps idealized image lasted well into the Ptolemaic period. The Egyptian historian Manetho credited him with inventing the method of a building during Djosers reign. Prior to Djoser, pharaohs were buried in mastaba tombs, the surviving copy of the papyrus was probably written around 1700 BC but may be a copy of texts written a thousand years earlier. However, this attribution of authorship is speculative, egyptologist James Peter Allen states that The Greeks equated him with their own god of medicine, Asklepios, although ironically there is no evidence that Imhotep himself was a physician. Two thousand years after his death, Imhoteps status was raised to that of a deity of medicine and he was identified or associated with Thoth, the god of architecture, mathematics, medicine and patron of the scribes, Imhoteps cult merging with that of his former tutelary god

Pyramid (geometry)
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In geometry, a pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting a polygonal base and a point, called the apex. Each base edge and apex form a triangle, called a lateral face and it is a conic solid with polygonal base. A pyramid with a base has n +1 vertices, n +1 faces. A right pyramid has its apex directly above the centroid of its base, nonright pyr

1.
Regular-based right pyramids

Egyptian pyramids
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The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt. As of November 2008, sources cite either 118 or 138 as the number of identified Egyptian pyramids, most were built as tombs for the countrys pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Sa

1.
A view of the pyramids at Giza from the plateau to the south of the complex. From left to right, the three largest are: the Pyramid of Menkaure, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The three smaller pyramids in the foreground are subsidiary structures associated with Menkaure's pyramid.

2.
A view of the Pyramid of Khafre from the Sphinx.

3.
The Mastaba of Faraoun, at Saqqara

4.
The largely destroyed Pyramid of Djedefre

Giza Necropolis
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The Giza pyramid complex is an archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It is located in the Libyan Desert, approximately 9 km west of the Nile river at the old town of Giza and it is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence. The Great Sphinx lies on the east side of the complex,

4.
The Great Sphinx partially excavated, photo taken between 1867 and 1899

Pyramid of the Moon
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The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest pyramid in modern-day San Juan Teotihuacán, Mexico, after the Pyramid of the Sun. It is located in the part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the mountain Cerro Gordo. Some have called it Tenan, which in Nahuatl, means mother or protective stone, the Pyramid of the Moon cover

1.
The Pyramid of the Moon

2.
Panoramic view of the Pyramid of the Moon

Teotihuacan
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Additionally, Teotihuacan exported fine obsidian tools that garnered high prestige and widespread usage throughout Mesoamerica. The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC, the city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD, but its major monuments were sacked and systematically burned around 550 AD. Teotihu

1.
View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun, from the Pyramid of the Moon.

2.
Teotihuacan

3.
The view from the Pyramid of the Sun

4.
Platform along the Avenue of the Dead showing the talud-tablero architectural style

Candi Sukuh
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Sukuh is a 15th-century Javanese-Hindu temple that is located on the western slope of Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java provinces. Sukuh temple has a distinctive thematic reliefs from other candi where life before birth and its main monument is a simple pyramid structure with reliefs and statues in front of it, including three

1.
The main monument of Sukuh temple.

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A relief of yoni – lingga on the floor of the Candi Sukuh's entrance

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A headless life-sized male figure grasping penis

4.
The scene in bas relief The scene depicted Bhima as the blacksmith in the left forging the metal, Ganesha in the center, and Arjuna in the right operating the tube blower to pump air into the furnace.

Java
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Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of over 141 million or 145 million as of 2015 Census released in December 2015, the Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on western Java. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java and it was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the coloni

1.
Mount Semeru and Bromo in East Java

2.
Topography of Java

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Parahyangan highland near Buitenzorg, c. 1865–1872

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Male Javan rhino shot in 1934 in West Java. Today only small numbers of Javan rhino survive in Ujung Kulon; it is the World's rarest rhino.

Indonesia
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Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia with some territories in Oceania. Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is the worlds largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands. At 1,904,569 square kilometres, Indonesia is

1.
A Borobudur ship carved on Borobudur, c. 800 CE. Indonesian outrigger boats may have made trade voyages to the east coast of Africa as early as the 1st century CE.

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Flag

3.
The nutmeg plant is native to Indonesia's Banda Islands.

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Tan Malaka, Indonesian philosopher, guerilla, and national hero.

Koh Ker
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Koh Ker is a remote archaeological site in northern Cambodia about 120 kilometres away from Siem Reap and the ancient site of Angkor. It is a very jungle filled region that is sparsely populated, more than 180 sanctuaries were found in a protected area of 81 square kilometres. Only about two dozen monuments can be visited by tourists because most o

1.
View of the seven tiered pyramid at Koh Ker

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Ancient script from the ruins of Koh Ker

Cambodia
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Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada

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Glazed stoneware dating back to the 12th century.

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Flag

3.
Khmer army going to war against the Cham, from a relief on the Bayon.

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Angkor Wat

Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Li

Polygon
–
In elementary geometry, a polygon /ˈpɒlɪɡɒn/ is a plane figure that is bounded by a finite chain of straight line segments closing in a loop to form a closed polygonal chain or circuit. These segments are called its edges or sides, and the points where two edges meet are the vertices or corners. The interior of the polygon is called its body. An n-

1.
Historical image of polygons (1699)

2.
Some different types of polygon

3.
The Giant's Causeway, in Northern Ireland

Face (geometry)
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In solid geometry, a face is a flat surface that forms part of the boundary of a solid object, a three-dimensional solid bounded exclusively by flat faces is a polyhedron. In more technical treatments of the geometry of polyhedra and higher-dimensional polytopes, in elementary geometry, a face is a polygon on the boundary of a polyhedron. Other nam

Square pyramid
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In geometry, a square pyramid is a pyramid having a square base. If the apex is perpendicularly above the center of the square, if the sides are all equilateral triangles, the pyramid is one of the Johnson solids. The 92 Johnson solids were named and described by Norman Johnson in 1966, a Johnson solid is one of 92 strictly convex polyhedra that ha

1.
A regular octahedron can be considered a square bipyramid, i.e. two Johnson square pyramids connected base-to-base.

2.
Square pyramid

Pyramidion
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A pyramidion is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk, in archaeological parlance. They were called benbenet in the Ancient Egyptian language, which associated the pyramid as a whole with the sacred benben stone. A pyramidion was covered in gold leaf to reflect the rays of the sun, during Egypts Middle Kingdom, they were

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Main hall of the Egyptian Museum, showing four black granite pyramidia.

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The restored pyramidion of the Red Pyramid at Dashur is now on display beside the Pyramid

Great Pyramid of Cholula
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The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl, is a huge complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid in the New World, the pyramid stands 55 metres above the surrounding plain, and in its final form it measured 400 by 400 metres. The pyramid is a temple that traditionally has been vi

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From a distance the pyramid appears to be a natural hill topped by a church

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Room with model of the various structures that make up the pyramid

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View of the main courtyard

4.
Altar

Puebla
–
Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla and it is located in East-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the north and east, Hidalgo, México,

1.
Lake and mountains in Necaxa

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Flag

3.
Petlapa River

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Fog in the mountains near Zacatlán

List of largest buildings in the world
–
The lists in this article rank buildings from around the world by usable space, footprint on the ground, and floor space, respectively. The term building used by these lists refers to structures that are suitable for continuous human occupancy. There are a few exceptions which include factories and warehouses and this list ranks the buildings throu

1.
Boeing's Everett factory seen in 2011

2.
Aerium, Germany

3.
Tropical Islands Dome in Brand - Bird’s-eye view - inside -

4.
Concourse B part of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport

Red Pyramid
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The Red Pyramid, also called the North Pyramid, is the largest of the three major pyramids located at the Dahshur necropolis in Cairo, Egypt. Named for the rusty reddish hue of its red limestone stones, it is also the third largest Egyptian pyramid, after those of Khufu and it is also believed to be Egypts first successful attempt at constructing a

2.
Isometric, plan and elevation images of the Red Pyramid Complex taken from a 3d model

3.
Detail of the massive corbel -vaulted ceiling of the main burial chamber

4.
The Red Pyramid in Dahshur

Dashur Necropolis
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Dahshur is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo. It is known chiefly for several pyramids, two of which are among the oldest, largest and best preserved in Egypt, built from 2613–2589 BC, building the Dahshur pyramids was an extremely important learning experience for the E

1.
Sneferu 's Red Pyramid

2.
Sneferu's Bent Pyramid

Great Pyramid of Giza
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The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, initially at 146.5 metres, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. Originally, the Great Pyramid

1.
Great Pyramid of Giza

2.
Transparent view of Khufu's pyramid from SE. Taken from a 3d Model

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Great Pyramid of Giza from a 19th-century stereopticon card photo

4.
Casing stone in the British Museum.

Khufu
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Khufu, originally Khnum-Khufu, is the birth name of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty in the first half of the Old Kingdom period. Khufu was the pharaoh of the 4th dynasty, he followed his possible father, king Sneferu. He is generally accepted as having commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders

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Statue of Khufu in the Cairo Museum

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Portrait of Sneferu, Khufu's father or stepfather

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Granite fragment with Khufu's horus name Medjedu on it.

4.
Ivory idol of Khufu in detail

Egypt
–
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Su

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The Giza Necropolis is the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

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Flag

3.
The Greek Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion at the Temple of Dendera.

4.
The 1803 Cedid Atlas, showing Ottoman Egypt.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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Although the list, in its current form, did not stabilise until the Renaissance, the first such lists of seven wonders date from the 1st-2nd century BC. The original list inspired innumerable versions through the ages, often listing seven entries, of the original Seven Wonders, only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the ancient wonders—r

1.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.

2.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (from left to right, top to bottom): Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria as depicted by 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck.

3.
In this painting by Maerten van Heemskerck, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are depicted as a background for the abduction of Helen by Paris. The Walters Art Museum.

Limestone
–
Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions

1.
Limestone outcrop in the Torcal de Antequera nature reserve of Málaga, Spain

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Limestone quarry at Cedar Creek, Virginia, USA

3.
Cutting the limestone blocks at a quarry in Gozo, Malta

4.
Limestone as building material

Tura, Egypt
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Tora was a site in ancient Egypt, located about halfway between modern Cairo and Helwan. It was Egypts primary quarry for limestone, Tora was known to the ancient Egyptians as Troyu or Royu. This name was misinterpreted by Strabo to mean that it was inhabited by Trojans and this site was located at 30°00′N 31°16′E, and its site is occupied by the m

1.
Tura. Quarry for limestone.

Chogha Zanbil
–
Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran. It is one of the few existent ziggurats outside of Mesopotamia and it lies approximately 30 km south-east of Susa and 80 km north of Ahvaz. It was built about 1250 BC by the king Untash-Napirisha, mainly to honor the great god Inshushinak and its original name was Dur Un

1.
Ziggurat at Chogha Zanbil

3.
Axe bearing the name of the king Untash-Napirisha

4.
Styles

Iran
–
Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline

1.
Cave painting in Doushe cave, Lorestan, Iran, 8th millennium BC

2.
Flag

3.
A depiction of the united Medes and Persians in Apadana, Persepolis

Mesopotamia
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In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. The Sumerians and Akkadians dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of history to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire. Mesopotamia becam

1.
Known world of the Mesopotamian, Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures from documentary sources

2.
Map showing the extent of Mesopotamia

3.
One of 18 Statues of Gudea, a ruler around 2090 BC

4.
One of the Nimrud ivories shows a lion eating a man. Neo-Assyrian period, 9th to 7th centuries BC.

Ziggurat
–
A ziggurat was a massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia and the western Iranian plateau. It had the form of a step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, Ziggurats were built by the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites,

1.
The reconstructed facade of the Neo-Sumerian Great Ziggurat of Ur, near Nasiriyah, Iraq

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CAD rendering of Sialk 's largest ziggurat based on archeological evidence.

Sumer
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Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers were able to grow an abundance of grain and other crops, the surplus of which enabled them to settle in one place. Proto-writing in the dates back to c.3000 BC. The earliest texts come from the cities of Uruk and Jemdet Nasr and date back to 3300 BC, modern historians have sugge

1.
Map of Sumer

2.
The Samarra bowl, at the Pergamonmuseum, Berlin. The swastika in the center of the design is a reconstruction.

3.
Fragment of Eannatum 's Stele of the Vultures

Babylon
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Babylon was a major city of ancient Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city was built upon the Euphrates and divided in parts along its left and right banks. Babylon was originally a small Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c.2300 BC, the town attained independence as part

1.
A partial view of the ruins of Babylon from Saddam Hussein 's Summer Palace

2.
Plan of Ruins of Babylon, 1905

3.
Babylon in 1932

4.
The Queen of the Night relief. The figure could be an aspect of the goddess Ishtar, Babylonian goddess of sex and love.

Akkadian Empire
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The empire united all the Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule. The Akkadian Empire controlled Mesopotamia, the Levant, and eastern and southern parts of Anatolia and Iran, sending military expeditions as far south as Dilmun and Magan in the Arabian Peninsula. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed an intimate cultural symbiosis bet

1.
Map of the Akkadian Empire (brown) and the directions in which military campaigns were conducted (yellow arrows)

2.
Bronze head of an Akkadian, probably an image of Manishtusu or Naram-Sin; descendants of Sargon (National Museum of Iraq)

3.
Kings of the Akkad Dynasty

Assyria
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Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant. Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Assyria is named after its capital, the ancient city of Aššur. In the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Assyrian kings were pastoral l

1.
Letter sent by the high-priest Lu'enna to the king of Lagash (maybe Urukagina), informing him of his son's death in combat, c. 2400 BC, found in Girsu.

2.
Overview map of the Ancient Near East in the 15th century BC (Middle Assyrian period), showing the core territory of Assyria with its two major cities Assur and Nineveh wedged between Babylonia downstream (to the south-east) and the states of Mitanni and Hatti upstream (to the north-west).

3.
Assyrian attack on a town with archers and a wheeled battering ram, 865–860 BC

4.
Jehu, king of Israel, bows before Shalmaneser III of Assyria, 825 BC

Ubaid period
–
The Ubaid period is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The name derives from Tell al-Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially by Henry Hall, in South Mesopotamia the period is the earliest known period on the alluvial plain although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under the alluvium. I

1.
Pottery jar from Late Ubaid Period

2.
Ubaid period

3.
Geography

Early Dynastic Period of Sumer
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The Early Dynastic period is an archaeological culture in southern Mesopotamia, generally dated to approximately 2900–2350 BC. It was preceded by the Uruk period and Jemdet Nasr period, which saw the formation of the first states, the first cities, and the invention of writing. The ED period itself was characterized by the existence of multiple cit

1.
Early Dynastic period

2.
Sumerian Worshiper

3.
An Inscribed stand's head, early dynastic period.

Brick
–
A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term referred to a unit composed of clay. A brick can be composed of clay-bearing soil, sand, and lime, Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produce

1.
A wall constructed in glazed-headed Flemish bond with bricks of various shades and lengths

2.
A pallet of bricks stacked without mortar

3.
Raw Indian brick

4.
An old brick wall in English bond laid with alternating courses of headers and stretchers

Astrology
–
Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Throughout most of its history astrology was considered a tradition and was common in academic circles, often in close relation with astronomy, alchemy, meteorology. It was present in po

2.
Marcantonio Raimondi engraving, 15th century

3.
'The Zodiac Man' a diagram of a human body and astrological symbols with instructions explaining the importance of astrology from a medical perspective. From a 15th century Welsh manuscript

4.
The Roman orator Cicero objected to astrology.

Herodotus
–
Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understo

1.
A Roman copy (2nd century AD) of a Greek bust of Herodotus from the first half of the 4th century BC

2.
Fragment from the Histories VIII on Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2099, early 2nd century AD

3.
Relief of Herodotus by Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1806), Louvre, Paris

4.
The statue of Herodotus in his hometown of Halicarnassus, modern Bodrum, Turkey.

Religions of the Ancient Near East
–
The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic, with some early examples of primitive monolatry, Ashurism and Monism. Some scholars believe that the similarities between these religions indicate that the religions are related, a known as patternism. Many religions of the ancient near East and their offshoots can be traced to Proto-

Electrum
–
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It has also been produced artificially, and is known as green gold. The ancient Greeks called it gold or white gold, as opposed to refined gold and its colour ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver.

4.
Cup with mythological scenes, a sphinx frieze and the representation of a king vanquishing his enemies. Electrum, Cypro-Archaic I (8th–7th centuries BC). From Idalion, Cyprus.

Third Dynasty
–
For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth, the capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis. After the turbulent last years of the Second Dynasty which might have included civi

1.
Funerary temple of Djoser at Saqqara

Djoser
–
Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom and the founder of this epoch. He is well known under his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos and he was the son of king Khasekhemwy and queen Nimaathap, but if he also was the direct throne successor is still unclear. The painted limestone statue of Djoser, now

1.
Limestone statue of Djoser from his serdab

2.
Cartouche name...djeser-sah in the king list of Abydos. Note the upper part of the cartouche, which shows signs of erased hieroglyphs.

3.
The Famine Stele, mentioning Djoser.

4.
Step Pyramid of Zoser, old photography.

Imhotep
–
Imhotep was an Egyptian polymath who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He was one of only a few ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis, from the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and phi

3.
Tomb relief depicting the vizier Nespeqashuty and his wife, KetjKetj, making the journey of the dead to the holy city of Abydos – from Deir el-Bahri, Late Period, twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt, reign of Psammetichus I

4.
Panel from the Osiris temple: Horus presents royal regalia to a worshipping pharaoh.

1.
Head of an Early Eighteenth Dynasty King, ca. 1539-1493 B.C.,37.38E, Brooklyn Museum

2.
Block Statue of Ay, ca. 1336-1327 B.C.E. 66.174.1, Brooklyn Museum

3.
Ahmose-Nefertari. Ahmose-Nefertari was the daughter of Seqenenre Tao II, a 17th dynasty king who rose up against the Hyksos. Her brother Ahmose, expelled the Hyksos, and she became queen of a united Egypt. She was deified after she died.

4.
Amenhotep I gained the throne after his two elder brothers had died. He was the son of Ahmose and Ahmose-Nefertari. He was succeeded by Thutmose I who married his daughter, Ahmose.

3.
A silk banner from Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of Lady Dai (d. 168 BC), wife of the Marquess Li Cang (利蒼) (d. 186 BC), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.

4.
A gilded bronze oil lamp in the shape of a kneeling female servant, dated 2nd century BC, found in the tomb of Dou Wan, wife of the Han prince Liu Sheng; its sliding shutter allows for adjustments in the direction and brightness in light while it also traps smoke within the body.

1.
Monks Mound, the largest earthen structure at Cahokia (for scale, an adult is standing on top)

2.
A map showing approximate areas of various Mississippian and related cultures. Cahokia is located near the center of this map in the upper part of the Middle Mississippi area

3.
Tamarois et Caouquias appears on a map of Illinois in 1718 south of the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers (approximate modern state area highlighted) from Carte de la Louisiane et du Cours du Mississipi by Guillaume de L'Isle.

4.
An 1887 illustration of Monks Mound showing it with fanciful proportions.